The Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery mission statement is: To sustainably improve neurosurgical education and patient care in the developing world.  The ultimate goal is the creation of neurosurgical residency programs at our sites in Central America, South America, Africa, and Asia.

During 2006 eighteen neurosurgeons volunteered in twelve countries.
They were in Belize, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Kenya, Nepal, Thailand, Uganda, and Vietnam.  The usual situation is for the neurosurgeon to spend one month abroad and, in return, FIENS provides roundtrip travel expenses and the host site provides living accommodations.  We need the expertise of those active in clinical practice or in recent retirement as we continue to expand the number of sites and improve neurosurgery in developing countries.

Neurosurgical instruments were delivered to Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Iran, Nepal, Nigeria, Thailand, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.  Supplies and instruments were donated by Integra, Life Instrument, Medtronic, and Mizuho.

Three fellowships were awarded with funds from the Integra Foundation:  Dr. Nguyen Kim Chung from Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam worked with Dr. Dennis D. Spencer at Yale to learn the techniques of epilepsy surgery.  Dr. Sushil K. Shilpakar from Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal worked with Dr. Benjamin C. Warf in Mbale, Uganda to learn endoscopic technique.  Dr. John Mugamba from Uganda went for training in Cape Town, Africa and then returned to Mbale, Uganda to work at the CURE Hospital in 2006 when Dr. Warf left.

Sincerely yours,
Merwyn Bagan, MD,MPH,FACS